US Pediatricians Are Invited to Promote Daily Reading – from Birth – to their Patients

- A new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians explain to parents - particularlythose from low-income families - the high value of books and the benefits of daily reading to their babies, until at least kindergarten age.

- The authors of the report advise doctors to take the five following specific measures:

1. Emphasize to parents that reading to their kids – even infants – builds the “brain circuits to prepare children to learn language and early literacy skills.”

2. Guide parents toward reading activities that they and their kids will enjoy.

3. Provide books to low-income patients that are “developmentally, culturally, and linguistically appropriate.”

4. Use posters, pamphlets and other materials to promote reading, including programs run by public libraries.